What is "ellen"

fem. proper name, an older form of Helen (q.v.). Its popularity among U.S. birth names peaked in 1880s and 1940s.

n. 1 (context obsolete English) zeal. 2 (context obsolete English) strength; courage. 3 (context theology English) Strength vouchsafed; comfort; grace.

Ellen is a female given name.

Ellen may also refer to:

Ellen is an American television sitcom that aired on the ABC network from March 29, 1994, to July 22, 1998, consisting of 109 episodes. The title role is Ellen Morgan, played by stand-up comedian Ellen DeGeneres, a neurotic bookstore owner in her thirties. The title of the series was These Friends of Mine for the first season, but it was subsequently changed to avoid confusion with the NBC series Friends, which premiered in September 1994.

The series centered on Ellen's dealing with her quirky friends, her family and the problems of daily life. The series is notable for being one of the first with a main character to come out as gay, which DeGeneres' character did in the 1997 episode " The Puppy Episode". This event received a great deal of media exposure, ignited controversy, and prompted ABC to place a parental advisory at the beginning of each episode.

The series' theme song (used in Season 3 onwards), " So Called Friend", is by Scottish band Texas. A running gag during the third and fourth seasons was that each episode had a distinct/different opening credits sequence (often with singing and dancing), resulting from Ellen's ongoing search for the perfect opening credits.

Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor and Helen. Ellen is the 666th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden (2004).

People named Ellen include:

• Ellen Anckarsvärd (1833-1898), Swedish feminist
• Ellen Barkin (born 1954), American actress
• Ellen Burstyn (born 1932), American actress
• Ellen Carter (1762-1815), English artist
• Ellen Cleghorne (born 1965), American comedian and actress
• Ellen Craswell (1932-2008), American politician
• Ellen DeGeneres (born 1958), American comedian, actress, and talk-show host
• Ellen Dissanayake, anthropologist and author
• Ellen Estes (born 1978), American water polo player
• Ellen Feiss (born 1987/1988), Internet phenomenon famous for appearing an Apple advertisement
• Ellen Foley (born 1951), American singer and actress
• Ellen Fries (1855-1900), Swedish feminist and writer, first woman to be awarded a PhD in Sweden
• Ellen Gallagher (born 1965), American artist
• Ellen Key (1849-1926), Swedish feminist writer and suffragette
• Ellen MacArthur (born 1976), British yachtswoman
• Ellen McIlwaine (born 1945), American musician
• Ellen McLain, American voice actress
• Ellen Muth (born 1981), American actress
• Ellen Nikolaysen (born 1951), Norwegian actress
• Ellen Page (born 1987), Canadian actress
• Ellen Pao (born 1970), American lawyer and the former interim chief executive officer of Internet company Reddit Inc.
• Ellen Pompeo (born 1969), American actress
• Ellen Sauerbrey (born 1937), American politician
• Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born 1938), President of Liberia
• Ellen Roche, is a Brazilian actress and model.
• Ellen Terry (1847-1928), English stage actress
• Ellen Travolta (born 1940), American actress
• Ellen van Dijk (born 1987), Dutch professional road and track cyclist
• Ellen G. White (1827-1915), American co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and author
• Ellen Willmott (1858–1934), English horticulturalist
• Ellen Wilson (judoka) (born 1976), American judoka
• Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (born 1939), American classical music composer

The first season of Ellen, an American television series, began March 29, 1994, and ended on June 1, 1994. It aired on ABC as originally These Friends of Mine. The region 1 DVD was released on September 28, 2004.

The second season of Ellen, an American television series, began September 21, 1994, and ended on May 17, 1995. It aired on ABC. The region 1 DVD was released on February 22, 2005.

The third season of Ellen, an American television series, began September 12, 1995, and ended on May 21, 1996. It aired on ABC. The region 1 DVD was released on February 28, 2006. This season also contains two episodes that were meant to be a part of season one, "The Tape" and "The Mugging".

The fourth season of Ellen, an American television series, began September 17, 1996, and ended on May 13, 1997. It aired on ABC. The region 1 DVD was released on September 26, 2006. This season is most famous for " The Puppy Episode" outing the fictional Ellen Morgan, which aired on the same day Ellen DeGeneres came out on Oprah. Almost every episode beforehand contained several hints.

The fifth season of Ellen, an American television series, began September 24, 1997, and ended on July 22, 1998. It aired on ABC. The region 1 DVD was released on November 28, 2006. Note that although Disc 2 of the Region 1 DVD release has "The Funeral" before "Womyn Fest," the content of the next two episodes suggests that "Womyn Fest" goes before "The Funeral."

Ellen is the surname of:

• Cliff Ellen (born 1936), Australian actor, brother of Joff Ellen
• Joff Ellen (1915-1999), Australian actor and comedian born Raymond Charles Ellen
• Mark Ellen, English magazine editor, journalist and broadcaster
• Mary Ann Ellen (1897–1949), New Zealand rural women's advocate, community leader and hairdresser
• Roy Ellen (born 1947), British Professor of Anthropology and Human Ecology
• Shane Ellen (born 1973), former Australian rules footballer